Ministry of Aliyah and Integration — First Steps and Airport Absorption Process

Source: Israeli Government Guide for New Immigrants · 2026-05

8 For your information, if you have spent time in Israel in the past, as a temporary resident or any other status, for periods of a year or more, consecutively or accumulatively, inquire in advance what effect these periods of time might have on your rights for assistance and on the duration of your eligibility. One can check this with the help of the representative of The Jewish Agency. We wish you an easy and successful absorption in Israel. Please Note! The information contained here is a general guide only, and does not confer eligibility for any type of assistance or benefit. Details and regulations are subject to change. Before undertaking any action based on this information, be sure to ascertain the rights and benefits to which you are entitled. The information in this guidebook is based on data provided by various official sources. In case of any error, alteration, or discrepancy between the information presented and the laws and regulations of official bodies, the laws and regulations of the official bodies will prevail. The information phrased in the masculine form is intended for men and women alike.

9 When you arrive in Israel, you have to perform some essential steps: • Absorption (by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration) at Ben Gurion Airport. • Opening a Bank Account. • First meeting with the Personal Absorption Counselor of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration for initial orientation. • Registering with a Health Fund (If you have not registered at Ben Gurion Airport). • Finding housing accommodations. • Registering for Hebrew Ulpan. • Registering your children in school, kindergarten, and day care. • Applying for a permanent identity card (Te’udat Zehut) at the Population and Immigration Authority. • Contacting the National Insurance Institute in order to apply for various types of allowances, arrangement of payments for insurance and more. Following these steps, you will have to perform other procedures depending on your needs: Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees and Diplomas, process of professional licensing or certification in your profession, converting a foreign driver’s license, contacting the Students Authority and other matters. Following is detailed information about these procedures: Absorption at Ben Gurion Airport If you enter Israel with a new immigrant (oleh hadash) visa, the representatives of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration will meet you at the entrance to the airport. They will guide you through passport control and escort you to the ministry premises for initial registration: this is where your absorption process begins. Someone who receives the status of “immigrant citizen” from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, is also processed as a new immigrant, but there are cases where they cannot be processed in First Steps

10 the airport for technical reasons. In these cases, the registration must be done in the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration where you live once you have regulated your status in the Population and Immigration Authority. Someone who receives the status of “returning minor” from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration: The registration must be done in the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration where you live. It is advisable to order simultaneously an identity card from the Population and Immigration Authority. Documents you should bring with you Make sure you have these documents with you and not in your luggage: • Passport with new-immigrant visa (if the passport on which the new-immigrant visa was stamped has expired, one should present a new-immigrant visa [i.e., the older passport] in addition to the valid passport). • Birth certificate (the original one) with an “apostille“ stamp. • If necessary - a document proving change of name. • Documents that are proof of current family status during the time of aliyah, for example:

Marriage certificate with an “apostille“ stamp

Authorization of divorce with an “apostille“ stamp

Death certificate of spouse with an “apostille“ stamp

Un-married people from the age of 18 and over will present a confirmation of being single

If necessary - an additional document proving former family status will be required • An official document certifying authorization of guardianship (If necessary) for a relative who made aliyah with you, with an “apostille” stamp • If one of the members of the couple is Israeli, and they had children born abroad who were not registered as “born” in an official Israeli mission abroad, one should provide the necessary documents when registering at the Population and Immigration Authority • An official document confirming there is no previous criminal record. • Documents that testify to Jewish status • Letter from an aliyah emissary (shaliach) - If you have a letter

11 • Any other documents that can verify your situation and you believe are relevant * In general, the Population and Immigration Authority requires an apostille stamp on all of the official documents given to you at your country of origin. Certain countries do not have an apostille agreement with Israel. If this is the case, check with an aliyah emissary (shaliach) about alternatives for this stamp. It should be mentioned that a foreign authorization of guardianship is not valid in Israel, and you will be required to go through a process of receiving an authorization of guardianship order in Israel, administered by the Family Court. The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration will honor the foreign authorization of guardianship for the first months of absorption only. Documents you will receive at the airport Immigration certificate (Te’udat Oleh) A new immigrant certificate (Te’udat Oleh) - a document given to a single immigrant or family. The certificate is used to register the benefits you will receive as new immigrants. The certificate includes a picture of the immigrant; in the case of a family the document includes pictures of both parents and a list of children under the age of 21. Children above that age or children between the ages of 18 and 21 that are married, divorced, or widows, receive their own certificate. It is important that you always have the certificate available whenever you visit the following offices: Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, bank, government ministries, National Insurance Institute, local authority, health insurance etc. Please Note! Verify that all the information on your certificate is accurate, benefits vary based on the number of family members and their ages. For any change that occurs - marriage, birth, divorce or death - you should notify your local Ministry of Aliyah and Integration offices with proper documentation, in order that we will be able to update the certificate. Temporary identity card or registration form Upon your arrival at the airport with your immigrant visa, a temporary identification card, valid for nine months, may be

12 issued by a Ministry of Aliyah and Integration employee who is licensed by the Population and Immigration Authority. If for some reason, you do not receive your identity card in the airport, you will receive a registration form for a long-term card for the Population and Immigration Authority, in order to enable you go to one of the offices of the Population and Immigration Authority to issue an identity card. Please Note! The new service regarding the issuing of identity cards at the Ben Gurion Airport is a fairly new service, and could be subject to changes. If changes occur, an announcement will be published on the site of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. Form for Opening a Bank Account At the airport you will also receive a form for opening a bank account. This form must be signed by the bank clerk, and you must bring the signed form to the personal absorption counselor at the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration during the first meeting at a branch or district office. It is mandatory to open a bank account and make a cash deposit of as little as one shekel (in order to activate the account) in order to receive the Absorption Basket and any other financial assistance from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. For more details, see the section entitled “Financial Assistance.” Signing up to a Health Fund It is recommended to sign up to a health fund already at the airport to enable you to receive health services without delay. If you have not done so at the airport, you will have to do so later at a Post Office branch, or through the website of the National Insurance Institute. For more details, see the section entitled “Health Services.” Initial Financial Assistance In addition to the documents mentioned above, you will receive the first financial assistance at the airport - the first payment of the Absorption Basket. The Absorption Basket is financial assistance for daily needs during the first six months in Israel.

13 Please Note! The first payment of the Absorption Basket is given in two portions: The first is given at the airport, and the second portion is a bank transfer, which the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration deposits into the new bank account, a few days after you have given the account number to the Absorption Counselor of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (for further information see the “Absorption Basket” pamphlet). Someone who has reached the mandatory age of retirement in Israel and emigrated from one of the following countries: the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Arab States, Ethiopia, and South America, and is eligible, will also receive at the airport the first payment of a special old-age pension to which they are entitled from the National Insurance Institute (new immigrants from other countries who are eligible for a special old-age pension should submit a request to the National Insurance Institute in order to receive a special old-age pension). Additional Services at the Airport
Additional Services Available to New Immigrants at the Area of Absorption Facilities of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration (“Mitcham HaKlita”) at the Airport Include: • A room for mothers - to care for babies, for nursing and changing diapers • A nurse for persons with disabilities who need assistance or who have health restrictions • A telephone for no-cost calls within Israel in order to notify relatives of arrival • Light refreshments You might be eligible for a SIM card with free minutes to make phone calls in Israel. At the conclusion of registration and receipt of documents at the desk of the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, you can collect your luggage together with a Ministry representative, go through the customs inspection, and depart to your place of residence. If you have a large amount of luggage, it is possible to hire porter services from the terminal building to the cab. Please Note! It is advisable to inquire in advance whether loading the luggage onto the cab is included in the porter service.